One of the most common questions I receive is “Which pad and product should I use to correct my paint?” Unfortunately the simple answer is:

I Don’t Know

This is because there are many variables when it comes to paint correction, so no two vehicles will be the same, and therefore what may have worked well in one instance may not work as well in another – even if they are on the same year, make, model, and color vehicle. This is why test spots are an important part of the paint correction process. Luckily, there are many popular products available today that work well in many scenarios, and when paired with the right pad, can be adjusted to fit your specific needs.

One of the keys to successful paint correction is being able to make the necessary changes to your products, pads, and technique in order to produce the results you are looking for. I discuss some of this in my article on Analyzing Your Test Spot, but I’d like to spend some more time discussing the product and pad choices.

It seems the majority of individuals who are beginning to learn how to correct their paint assume that a finishing polish goes with a finishing pad, a cutting compound goes with a cutting pad, and so on. This mindset is extremely limiting and will certainly reduce the success you have with paint correction. The beauty of having many different types of pads and many different types of polishing liquids is that you can mix and match the liquids with the pads to create even more options for you in terms of cutting ability and finish!

Let’s consider the very popular Meguiar’s M105 and M205 products. M105 is known as a heavy cutting compound that is capable of removing some pretty nasty defects, and M205 is thought of as a finishing polish that can remove light defects and produce a nice glossy finish, but what if I told you that M205 could be used as a cutting compound and M105 could be tamed to a more mild cut.

Optimum Hyper Spray Polish paired with a light cutting pad to produce more cut while still finishing for an excellent one-step correction combination on this harder GM paint.

By simply pairing M205 with a more aggressive pad, such as a light cutting pad or even a microfiber cutting pad, you’re going to increase the cutting power compared to using M205 with a finishing pad. Likewise, if you were to use M105 with a finishing pad it would have considerably less cut, and usually a better finish, than if it were to be used with a heavy cutting pad. Makes sense, right? Learning to experiment with what may feel like a non-traditional product/pad combo can lead to some great results… so don’t be afraid to think outside the box! Once you can understand that there is no true wrong or right pad combo, your paint correction results will surely improve even if you only have a couple of products to work with.

As always, thanks for reading!

]]>http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/paint-correction-pairing-products-and-pads/feed/8Hard Paint and Soft Paint – What are your polishing choices?http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/hard-paint-and-soft-paint-what-are-your-polishing-choices/
http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/hard-paint-and-soft-paint-what-are-your-polishing-choices/#commentsThu, 31 May 2012 10:30:27 +0000http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/?p=7972Regular readers of the Ask A Pro Blog have heard us talk about different levels of paint hardness, and what processes we had to use to accommodate the needs on that particular vehicle. And for those of us who detail for a living, we’re well aware of the wide variety of paint hardness and some of the challenges they present, particularly at the far ends of the spectrum (granite-like hardness, or butter softness).

Perhaps the two most frequently asked questions that the blog authors receive are: (1) “How do I know if the paint is soft or hard?”, and (2) “What’s the best combination to use on my hard/soft paint?”. Well, the first question is relatively easy to answer, but the second is not.

First of all there are a lot of trends from the manufacturers that we learn through experience in terms of paint hardness. We have come to learn that manufacturers like Audi, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes typically have hard paint, and Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus (most Japanese manufacturers), and Porsche have soft paints. As for the American manufacturers…they’re all across the board from soft to hard and can vary from factory to factory even when dealing with the same car. But these are merely guidelines because while most colors from BMW for instance would be hard paint, their Jet Black is very soft (most companies have at least one car / color that are on the other end of the spectrum than the rest). And the manufacturers can change their paint from year to year, so just because a certain paint code from one manufacturer is really soft for several years, it doesn’t mean that ALL years of that exact paint code/name will be that way. Just to repeat…these are merely guidelines and there are many, many exceptions which is why a thorough test section on each car needs to be performed to determine just how hard or soft a paint is and to establish your proper combination for paint correction.

So the answer to the first question can be handled in two ways. The first is by experience, and knowing a particular car / color / year and how the paint typically reacts. The second is by doing a test section to figure out how the paint is reacting. If you first try a light polish / pad combination and it barely makes a difference at all, then you know it’s a hard paint and you need to work your way up in terms of aggressive combinations to find out what’s going to give you the best cut and finish.

Now for the second question (what’s the best combination…), that’s not as easily answered given the amount of variables we’re typically faced with when polishing. And if I have a go-to combination on a particular car that consistently works well, then you would need to duplicate my choice of machine, backing plate, and technique in addition to the pad/polish combo if you want to get the same results, see my article on The 5 Key Elements of Proper Paint Polishing.

But what about those times when somebody is struggling with compounding on a hard paint, or finish-polishing on a soft paint and they need advice? I’ve received many of these calls / text messages / emails, and it’s not as easy as saying “try this combo…it works great!”. Once again, there are many, many variables, and it becomes a scientific testing procedure to determine what combination of machine, backing plate, pad, polish, and technique is going to work best.

If you’re a detailer working on a wide variety of paint systems and levels of paint correction, then you have to be skilled and knowledgeable on a multitude of machines, pads, polishes, and techniques because you will encounter particularly hard of soft paints that require a lot of trial and error to determine the best course of action. For those who limit themselves to just a few products, they’re simply not going to be able to achieve a high level of performance when faced with the extremes on the hard / soft scale.

All things considered however, we can break down our approach into 2 simple realities when dealing with the fringes of the hardness scale.

Paint Correction on Very Hard Paint:

When dealing with very hard paint, the difficult part is the compounding stage to get a high level of correction. The finish polishing stage however, is usually pretty easy. As we proceed with our test section, we typically spend a lot of time figuring out the best combination to use that will give us a good correction with a finish that will allow us to do just one simple finish polishing stage. We’re trying a variety of machines, pads, polishes, and techniques as we narrow down our process to find the “winner”. So while we try a lot of different combinations, we’re usually very limited on what will actually work the way we want it to.

But as we figure out the finish-polishing stage, we find that we have a lot of choices that get us where we want to be. We can use different machines, different pads, and different polishes, and most of them will clean up the haze leftover from the compounding stage, and restore the gloss and clarity.

Paint Correction on Very Soft Paint:

Dealing with soft paint is just the opposite in that the compounding stage is usually the easy part with a lot of choices, but the finish polishing stage is most difficult and the one we’ll spend the most time on as we determine the best combination to accomplish our goals. Since one of our main goals is to perform just a 2-step polishing process, we’ll find which compounding stage cuts the defects, yet leaves it with the best finish. We have a lot of great compounds available to us these days that provide a good cut with a nice finish, so this part should be relatively easy.

Now that we’re dealing with finish polishing however, we’re usually spending a lot of time testing different combinations of machine, pads, polishes, and techniques in order to (a) bridge the gap between compounding and finishing, and (b) create a perfect finish with the highest level of gloss with no micro-marring. This may sound relatively simple, but when you’re dealing with some of the very soft and finicky paints out there (black in particular), this can be a very time-consuming process. You also need to be very careful because there are a lot of polishes out there that will look perfect when inspecting with your Brinkmann Light from 24″, 12″, or 4″ away, but once you strip off any polishing oils and inspect very closely, you may find light micro-marring that can only be seen from just a few inches away.

Hard vs. Soft Summary

So if you keep the following guidelines in mind when tackling your next project, it should help you better prepare, and hopefully save you some time during your evaluation and testing process.

Hard Paints = Very few choices for the compounding stage (after a lot of testing), but many choices on the finish-polishing stage.

Soft Paints = Many choices for the compounding stage, but very few for the finish polishing stage.

Prepare yourself for these extremes in the hardness scale by learning a wide variety of products and processes. If your product selection is limited, then your performance will be limited as well. Also keep in mind that just because a product works great on a soft (or hard) paint from one manufacturer, it doesn’t guarantee that it will also be the best choice when dealing with a soft or hard paint from another manufacturer…just another variable that we need to deal with!

Every so often, we see these super cars and something is just not right with the paint. Whether it be swirl marks taking away from the deep gloss, scratches that hinder perfect reflections, or faded paint creating a cloudy appearance, there is usually a remedy that can restore that brand new gloss and luster to the paint…that’s called paint correction.

Paint correction is a process in which the paint is refined until all defects are removed and a truly liquid-like state is returned to the paint on the car! It’s a labor of love that takes tremendous amount of time and patience. It would be a perfect world if it was possible to get a true paint correction detail done in just 2 hours, but truth be told, it takes hours upon hours to do things correctly. This Ferrari F430 took me just over 14 hours, and that was because the front half of the hood and fenders were protected in a clear film, so heavy polishing wasn’t necessary, only a light polishing over that area. Otherwise, I would have had another two hours (or more) on the car probably!

Starting out with a wash to remove all grime, wax protection using Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Clear. I first applied with a foam gun to get some initial loosening of dirt and grime to be broken down before washing traditionally.

Notice the lack of beading in this next picture. This is a good way to tell if there is still protection on the car. The more beading the strong the protection, less to no beading, nothing on the paint!

For Drying, I used the wonderful WW towel from DI

Wheels and brake calipers were cleaned up with Sonax wheel cleaner, EZ Detail Brush, while the tires were hit with Meguiar’s Degreaser to remove old tire dressing. They would later be topped with Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing at a 2:1 ratio (water:product)

After shot

Here I am claying the car with the Detailed Image fine grade clay bar with Meguiar’s Last Touch for lubricant.

Next step, crucial for true paint correction jobs…THE TAPE OFF! Stained and burned trim will really take away from perfectly polished paint, so it’s best to tape it off and protect it.

Next up, here are the before pictures that I took. You can clearly see the damage in the paint from previous car washings, and some hologramming from improper use of a rotary polisher in the past. Rest assured, that type of damage can be removed with the proper technique and product combos. If your car looks like this, you need to get it to a reputable detailer in your area as soon as possible! No one should have to drive around in a car looking like this, especially not in an exotic!

Now for some shots in side under different lighting of different areas.

Now that you have seen the damage, it’s time to reveal the final results after 14 hours of prepping, decontaminating, compounding, polishing, sealing, cleaning up on this beautiful Black Ferrari F430!!!

While I was recently on a flight from Columbus to Las Vegas to the SEMA Show with my good detailing friends DJ Mayo and Addison Good, we were having a conversation about inspecting paint and paint defects and it gave me the idea to do a quick article about the subject. Addison was talking about a metallic green Lamborghini Gallardo that he was working on, and said that when he did a closeup inspection using his Brinkmann LED light, he found it difficult to see the defects, but when he stepped back a few feet with the light, he was able to see the swirls and holograms easily. This is pretty common with metallic paints in particular, but it brings up a few good points about varying your inspection distance to see the defects, or to see different types of defects.

Back in February of 2011 I wrote an article about using different types of light sources to improve your work: Do You Want to Step Up Your Detailing Game? In that article I talked about how different light sources show off different types of defects, and how through the use of a strong LED light like the Brinkmann you can see defects that you can’t under halogen or fluorescent sources. By referring back to that article, you will see why it is so important to have one of these lights in your arsenal if you really want to produce great work.

So when you’re inspecting the level of defects in the paint either before, during, or after your paint correction, be sure to vary your viewing distance to see different types of defects. When you view from a farther distance, say 3 to 6 feet, you will see bigger issues like holograms caused by a rotary polisher. Also be sure to keep your head still, but move the light from side to side and up & down…then compare that view to moving both your head and the light at the same time. And as Addison commented, this may help to see defects on metallic paints that you might not be able to see at very close distances.

In this photo, I am inspecting this Nero Ferrari 458 Italia for holograms at a great distance. The sun is also a great way to inspect for holograms, however the work was done on a cloudy day and I couldn’t pull it outside.

For most of your general inspection needs, a distance of about 2 feet from the light source / your eyes to the surface will give you a good view of the overall condition. You’ll be able to detect scratches, swirls, haze, and other types of defects.

And when you are going for paint perfection, or you’re dealing with dark colored paints that may be challenging to finish down properly (soft paints in particular), you really want to get the light and your eyes up close to the surface to make sure you’re seeing nothing but pure reflections. I have seen black paint that looks good even in the Brinkmann light from one or two feet away, but when viewed from just 3 or 4 inches from the surface, you could detect slight swirls (from a rotary) or haze (from a D/A) that remains from the polishing process. Also be sure to move the light around and hold it at varying angles because the surface may look great when holding the light directly above it, but you could discover slight issues when holding the light at an angle while still viewing from directly above. Be thorough and methodical in your inspections, and it will greatly improve the quality of work that you’re producing…and the quality of the finish when you’re done.

On this 458 Italia in Rosso Corsa that I just worked on this past week, I needed to closely inspect the paint from just a few inches away from the surface in order to find those last remaining defects in order to get it perfect. By taking the extra time to make sure the surface shows nothing but pure reflections even from a few inches away in such a strong light source, I know that when it gets outside in the sunshine, it’s going to look absolutely ridiculous (and I mean that in a good way!).

Now grab your Brinkmann or handheld inspection light of choice, and vary the distance and angles of your next inspections to make sure that you’re achieving the best rate of correction possible!

I am all sure you are aware that you need to compound and or polish to remove defects. With that said, how do you know you are going about things in the correct manner? How is the paint supposed to look? Why polish after compounding, isn’t it enough? Why cant you just use Meguiar’s 105 and call it done? Lets take a look at the process briefly:

Starting out, you can see the finish was in dire need of some reconditioning. Scratches, RIDS, swirls, oxidation were taking over this paint! So where do you start? Do you use a compound from the start? Do you start with a finishing polish? The correct answer (without having done over 1000 cars in this condition would be to start out with a medium polish and pad combo and check the results. For me, I started this car out with Menzerna powerfinish and a white polishing pad. However, I didn’t get the results I was looking for, so I had to bump up the combo! So what do you think I went to…a cutting pad? a heavy compound? a cutting pad with a lighter polish? AS you can see there are many variables that can produce the desired results! What I actually ended up doing on this car was a three step process using the following combos to give me outstanding results:

After compounding, you can see the haze and why you cannot stop after compounding a car and go straight to wax. Sure it looks better, but it still isn’t done right, lacks total gloss, and has actually MILLIONS more scratches in the paint…they are just more uniformed and much smaller! Left side untouched, right side just compounded…

After refining the paint with all the steps, here is what I was left with…a finish that I would gladly put my name on!

here are some 50/50 shots to check out!

Hope that clears up the compound and polishing process for people with questions about how it will look after each step and why each step has its place in the paint correction process!

Well it’s been 9 months now since I started using the Meguiar’s DA Microfiber Correction System, and 6 months since I helped launch the product with my product review and tutorial. Now that I have had even more time with it I figured I would give some feedback after a countless amount of paint correction details with it.

For those who have been following my work now for several years (and more), you know that I specialize in heavy paint correction and Restorative Details as opposed to the quick reconditioning work. Given this, I do a tremendous amount of heavy compounding and defect removal and therefore require products and techniques that work well under demanding conditions.

With this in mind, one might assume that much of my work is done by a rotary buffer, but actually the opposite holds true…I haven’t used the rotary for compounding in 9 months!!! Sure I still use it regularly for finish polishing, but for the heavy stuff, using the D/A polisher is where it’s at right now with the current technologies available in pads and compounds.

So what makes it so good?

When compounding in particular, you’re typically looking for the right combination of 3 key elements…how heavy of a cut can you achieve (correction rate), how quickly you can achieve that level of correction, and how fine of a finish you’re left with. So if you have a product or process that provides fast and heavy cut, but leaves a bad finish that will require 2 or more finishing steps to achieve pure clarity, then it doesn’t do you much good (unless you simply like to spend lots of unnecessary finishing time).

When we look at the MF Cutting Disc in particular when teamed up with the proper backing plate (backing plate choice makes a huge difference, but that’s another article) and compound (Megs D300 or M105), you can get a seriously high correction rate, WITH a fast cutting process, and also WITH a fine finish. On most paints, you can’t come close to this same combination of all 3 elements with a rotary and either a wool or foam pad. Sure there are exceptions, but I’m talking about the majority of the time. And once you’re done with your compounding stage, you know that you’ll be able to go straight into your finish polishing process…be it via D/A or with rotary. The light haze that is leftover from the compounding stage is much easier to clear up than with swirling and hologramming from heavy cutting on the rotary.

So…what makes it so good is that you can achieve a high rate of correction, a quick rate of correction, and a fine finish in your compounding stage! It’s also versatile for the paint type you may be working with. By changing up pressure and machine speed, you can get the level of correction and finish that you desire depending on the type of paint and condition. Don’t be afraid to experiment a bit…more pressure, less pressure, down to speed 3.5, up to speed 5. It’s impressive sometimes what slight changes in your technique can do to the final product.

What about pad durability?

To me, this has been a huge plus in this system. Despite the fact that you need to use heavy pressure, and you’ll only use one or two pads for an entire car, these Microfiber Cutting Discs just keep going and going! I started off with just a few of the Cutting Discs just so I could use and abuse them to see how well they would last. Despite many compounding marathons and cleaning sessions, the pads hold up and maintain their high level of cut for much longer than you would get out of foam or wool. I’m still using some of my original testing pads 9 months later and they still maintain a high level of correction.

A few benefit highlights of the DA MF System:

Edge correction is better, and safer than what you can achieve by rotary

You go through fewer pads on a full correction job than you would with foam or wool

Less taping is required since you don’t have the same risks that you’re faced with on a rotary

Quicker finish polishing times after compounding with the DA MF system

A few drawbacks to the DA MF System:

For best results, you need to frequently clean with compressed air

Compressed air then leaves a dusty mess all over the shop

Even though it still requires skills and ability to “read” paint types, the gap has closed between amateur and professional! (Good for the amateur, bad for the pro)

So in the 9 months that I have been using the Meguiar’s MF Cutting Disc and D300, not only have I come to like it even more, but it has also become my main method of compounding. When a product arrives on the market that completely changes a professional detailer’s methods and techniques, then it’s a safe assumption that the detailer is completely behind that product.

I don’t just see the DA MF pads as game changers…I honestly view them as evolutionary milestones in paint correction history. These will undoubtedly breed new technologies and offspring, and you can bet money on it that there are a lot of people working in labs right now to either catch up and / or follow in the direction that this system has taken us in.

Using the Meguiar’s MF Cutting Disc with M105 (for heavy cutting) on the ultra-hard Lamborghini paint

I was contacted a while back by the owner of this rare color Gallardo for a detail and setting up a weekly maintenance program with him. I ended up there the first week and we discussed our options for the car. Instead of a simple polishing to boost the gloss and make it look better, we decided to go all out and recondition the whole car, top to bottom! The paint was pretty scratched up and covered in deep rids, some of which needed sanding, the color wasn’t at its optimal gloss, and the wheels needed a very thorough cleaning in order to make this car stand out.

Fast forward five weeks later, I finally was able to give this car the reconditioning that it needed. I threw everything at this one: thorough washing, claybar treatment, compounding, polishing, sealant wax for protection, wheel removal and suspension detailing to go along with a complete interior reconditioning and protection application. Total time invested in the car from start to finish was about 23 hours and it was well worth the time spent!!!

I would like to be up-front, this is going to be a really long, very picture heavy to depict just what I was working with along the way, and a lot of how to information on various procedures. Please feel free to leave comments or questions after you read this one!

WASHING STEP
Starting off with a slightly dirty car and a traditional wash (hose and bucket), I attached a foam gun substitute to get some suds on the car to start the grime and dirt breakdown process. I used a healthy dose of Chemical Guys Wash and Clear in both the foam gun and in my initial wash bucket. By doing this step, anything on the paint will remove much more easily and not induce any more damage to the car, as well as strip everything off the paint to allow better cleaning/polishing.

During the wash stage, all of the grills needed to be cleaned in a different manner as a sponge would not work well in this situation. Using a 1″ boars hair brush, I was able to get into the crevices and each hole in the honeycomb grills to clean them efficiently and effectively.

One more tip to help out in this situation is to use forced air to dry the grills. You can use an air compressor or a leaf blower to get all the loose water out from the cracks and crevices. You dont want water dripping out of crevices while polishing so this is a good step to perform.

CLAYBAR TREATMENT
Why is it necessary to use clay? Well, you need to remove the bonded contaminants from the paint prior to polishing, otherwise you run the risk of grinding in dirt into the paint creating more swirls than you take out! Luckily, this paint did not have a lot of contaminants on it! I ended up with the DI fine grade clay, and ONR for a clay lube.

INSPECTING THE PAINT WITH VARIOUS LIGHTS – LED/HALOGEN/SUN
After the car was clayed and taped up with the meguiars masking tape, I proceeded to inspect the car for all the damage I could find. There were holograms, swirl marks, scratches…this car had it all! Here are some before shots of how the entire car looked:

COMPOUNDING STAGE
This is the crucial stage of the whole paint correction game. It can either make or break your finish! Too heavy and you will make the finish worse, too light and you will not remove enough defects to get optically clear paint. What compounding doesnt remove, polishing will not either, so if you want to make sure defects are removed, it better be done in the compounding/heavy polishing step BEFORE you move on to the next less aggressive step. Here I am with the DA and a meguiars 105 ultra cut compound and surbuf pad combo. Some areas needed two passes to clear up. I have to assume the previous car washings were not done with any type of care as there was a lot of deep straight line scratches indicative of a brush being used…not good!

After compounding the whole car over I proceeded to re-wash the car with the same thorough method as the initial wash. The amount of dust on the car would not allow me to move on to the next step without doing so!

Polishing step: Menzerna powerfinish and a LC white pad
After drying the car, I pulled out the powerfinish and white pad and started to work my way around the car. Everything at this point was clearing up and the gloss was really starting to come around! With the cutting ability of powerfinish to remove the more aggressive previous steps hazing, yet still finishing down almost LSP ready, I could have stopped there and laid on a coat of wax…BUT, thats not how I do things!

Final polishing step: Menzerna 85rd and a LC black pad
For the final step before the final wash (yes I washed this car a total of 3 times), I pulled out the infamously good 85rd by menzerna. This is a true finishing polish that brings out an insane amount of gloss and depth from the paint. I will never finish a paint correction job without using this combo!

Suspension detailing stage:
Using Meguiars APC+, ONR, various brushes, and polishing pads with some menzerna 85rd and a sealant wax, I was able to restore the cleanliness and beauty from “behind the scenes” so to speak. Sure you dont see this area specifically, but as a whole, it enhances the overall picture!

Wheels cleaned with SONAX Full Effect
While I had the wheels removed from the car for the suspension detailing, I then moved onto the wheels to clean them inside and out! There is nothing worse than having dirty inner wheels while the outside of the wheels look perfect. Once again, it just completes the job!

Here I am with sonax wheel cleaner and a boars hair brush. Usually Ill use a ezdetail brush if the wheels are still on the car, but its much easier with them off the car! You can see the before and after as its pretty apparent which was cleaned and which one is not. SONAX has to be the best wheel cleaner I have ever used! They really hit the nail on the head with this product!

Interior work with leatherique twins and 303 aerospace protectant:
After vacuuming out the interior, it was time to rejuvenate the seats! (go figure thats the name of the product used!!!) Taking my time to apply rejuvenator oil to the seats, I let it soak in and do its magic overnight. I let it soak into the seat for a solid 12 hours. Next day, I removed with Prestine clean.

Since it was getting later in the evening, and I didnt want to continue to make anymore noise in the garage, I decided to polish and wax the door jambs using meguiars finishing wax on a blue pad by hand after cleaning with meguiars last touch quick detailer. The dirt and debris around the hinges was normal, but the compound build up from the previous detailing was something rare. I hadn’t seen build up like that in a LONG time!

Overall, the outcome from start to finish was a tedious and time consuming effort, but it was worth it in the end! 23 hours over three days was spent on this car to bring it back to its full potential! The gloss, clarity, and shine was restored, and the suppleness and clean look was returned to the interior! There is something to be said about a thoroughly reconditioned car…

Final Product pictures:

Before and after shots:

I warned you this would be a long one! Hope you enjoyed it and possibly learned why reconditioning takes as long as it takes. Some reconditioning jobs take 10-15 hours, some 20-30 hours, and some 40+. Never does it take just 4 hours!

Sonax is mostly recognized here in the U.S. for industry-leading technology in their Full Effect Wheel Cleaner, but what many people may not realize is that Sonax has been in business since 1949, and they produce a wide range of professional detailing products. While their presence here in the North American market may have only covered the past few years, Sonax has a long history of designing, developing, and manufacturing very high quality detailing products out of their Neuburg, Germany headquarters.

I originally met the Sonax company personnel at the SEMA Show out in Vegas in the Fall of 2010, and their presence at the show immediately gave me a good indication of (a) how big this company really is, and (b) how dedicated they are to the detailing industry. While I was at the show I spent a little time with Tom at Sonax USA, and we agreed to talk further in the future so that we could test some products for the Detailed Image Ask A Pro Blog.

Fast forward to this past Spring…Tom and Jason from Sonax USA came over to the Esoteric Auto Detail studios here in Columbus, Ohio for a visit. We looked at some Ferraris and Lamborghinis, talked shop, and then they introduced me to some products in their lineup that I may be interested in. Since they’re so new to the North American market, I wasn’t overly familiar with some of the products that they had to offer…I get so many products to test that I simply can’t try and know them all. During our meeting they talked about the Sonax philosophy to develop and produce detailing products with exceptional performance, ease of use, and be environmentally friendly as well. Since they went through so much effort to reach out to me and the other blog authors and readers, I figured I would give the products a shot. They left me with a box of samples, and it was up to me to fit the trials into my schedule.

Sonax Nano Tech Paint Cleaner – What It Is

NTPC is an All-In-One (AIO) product that cleans, polishes, and protects painted or clearcoated surfaces either by hand or by machine application. It utilizes ultra-fine abrasive polishes to restore weathered and worn finishes, and then it contains a carnauba wax that leaves behind a protective barrier once applied. Now typically when the detailing world sees the term “Paint Cleaner”, they immediately think of a consumer-grade hand polish that you can buy for $5 at the local auto store. And because of that, most people would never pick it up and give it a try because of what the product is classified as. Are enthusiasts and professionals alike justified in this thought process? Read on…

Let the NTPC trial begin

I was working on a beautiful Ferrari 430 Scuderia, and ran into a situation when cleaning up the carbon fiber engine compartment that had me trying different products to achieve the desired results. There was a haziness to it in some areas, as well as some light staining from improper products used at some point in the past. I tried regular cleaners, hand polishes, chemical AIO products…nothing really made it better. I stopped and evaluated the situation a bit, and remembered my box of samples that the boys from Sonax USA had recently dropped off. As I searched through the box, I came across the Nano Tech Paint Cleaner. Hmmm, maybe I’ll give this a try…nothing else has worked so why not give it a shot!

The first spot I tried had some staining on the beautiful carbon fiber panels. I reached for a soft foam applicator pad, added a few drops of NTPC, and gently hand-polished the area. When I wiped it off with my microfiber towel, not only did I see that the staining was removed, but the area around it where NTPC was applied had transformed into a rich, deep gloss and looked as it should. Excited with my findings, I proceeded to polish out the entire panel to reveal the rich beauty of the carbon fiber. I then compared the one polished panel to the unpolished panel, and knew that Sonax was onto something with this product! I found it very easy to use and remove by hand, and proceeded with the rest of the carbon fiber in the engine compartment (there’s a lot of it on the Scuderia!). When I finished, I quickly grabbed my camera to take some shots knowing that I wanted to share this in the future. I hadn’t started out with a product test / trial in mind, but it immediately turned into one.

And here is the carbon fiber engine compartment of the Ferrari 430 Scuderia after polishing with Sonax NTPC

Notice the deep, rich reflections on the carbon fiber after using NTPC

And one of my favorite photos that I have ever taken…

So now that I had a very successful trial of the NTPC on carbon fiber, I was intrigued by the product and anxious to try it in other applications. Next up was my epic 24-hour detail on a Lamborghini Gallardo, and I knew there would be opportunities to try it on this car.

Once again using a soft applicator pad, I used NTPC by hand in the door jambs and under the trunk lid. As with the carbon fiber, it did a great job of cleaning up the surface, removing light haze, restoring gloss, and leaving a smooth and slick finish thanks to the carnauba wax included in the formula.

Applying to the door jambs

And on the underside of the trunk lid

Leaving a glossy finish and a layer of protection

Using Sonax Nano Tech Paint Cleaner by machine

When using a traditional “paint cleaner”, it’s assumed that the process will be done by hand. I used the hand-application process on carbon fiber, on door jambs, and even on the exterior painted surfaces with very good results. At that point I was already prepared to do a writeup limited to just those very applications. But the next method and trial came out of chance, and in the process I discovered where NTPC really shines…when applied by a random orbital D/A polisher!

I was working on a black Ferrari 355, and the owner just wanted a quick polish to lightly clean it up…nothing major. I knew that the pure black Ferrari paint was soft and at times very challenging to work with, and figured that there would be a bit of testing to figure out what product and pad combination would net me the most correction with the best finish in the least amount of time.

When dealing with soft paints (dark, and black colors in particular), you’re typically faced with a different set of challenges than you’ll face with others. Medium-level polishing is usually out of the question because you’ll experience marring, holograms, or D/A haze depending on the process you’re using. Given that, you just have heavy, multi-step correction or very light polishing to choose from. And on some very soft and finicky paints, even using the absolute finest polishes and pads can leave marring on the finish. Some of these can only be seen when using a direct light source like the Brinkmann LED, but it’s still there. Getting ultra-soft paint to finish down properly is one of the most challenging situations that detailers and enthusiasts can face, and if you don’t have the right selection of products and tools, you may walk away from the job frustrated because you simply can’t get that ultra-pure finish that you were trying for.

As I started on this very soft black Ferrari, I tried several different products and combinations and just wasn’t getting the results that I wanted. Meguiar’s M205 left a tremendous amount of haze, and their D301 Finishing Wax wasn’t much better. This isn’t a knock against those great products…just pointing out that even finishing polishes can be too aggressive for these types of paint. I then tried my old stand-by polish for these applications…Optimum Poli-Seal. Once I looked under the Brinkmann light, I still noticed a slight haze. Hmm. In cases like these you sometimes have to step out of the box and try something completely different. And in this case, I figured I would give the Sonax NTPC a try on the D/A. I tried a few different methods, but found when I used just speed 3.5 with light pressure, it gave me the best results. All I needed was two small drops of the polish to work a good sized area. The polish doesn’t need to be “broken down” like traditional polishes, so the process goes pretty quickly.

When I wiped down my first few working areas, I pulled out the Brinkmann light for a close inspection. I was quite impressed that not only did I remove probably 50% of the light defects and haze with just a black finishing pad, light pressure, and speed 3.5, but it left no D/A haze or “squigglies” that can wreak havoc on soft black paint. I did a 50/50 (alcohol/water) wipedown on a small area just to be sure, and still found a pure finish. On an important note…alcohol wipedowns on soft black paint can cause its own marring and/or scratches…I wouldn’t recommend using it on this type of paint if you don’t have to!

Here I taped off a section and you can see that the area on the left has been corrected with NTPC, and the right side is the very hazy and swirled condition before polishing.

Normally with paint like this you can spend many, many hours with a frustrating polishing process to achieve even a 50% correction rate and this level of gloss. For this Ferrari 355, I invested only about 2 hours worth of light polishing time to achieve this:

While not perfect, this Ferrari now looks absolutely amazing with very little effort in a one-step polish.

Now sticking with the theme of quick, effective, one-step polishes by D/A on ultra-soft paint, I once again put the NTPC through a test on this 1994 Acura NSX. These cars have even softer and more finicky paint than the Ferrari, and figured it would be a great test. We were only doing a one-step polish on this car, and wanted to get the most cut with the best finish in the least amount of time. My first test was with Optimum Poli-Seal, and as expected, it left a light marring on the finish. I switched over to the NTPC with a black finishing pad on speed 3.5, and began the process. Once again…pure finish, great depth and gloss, and most importantly of all no haze or squigglies. With this soft paint, I achieved probably 75% correction in just a few short hours thanks to Sonax.

While I didn’t get any “before” photos, you can see that this Acura NSX had an incredible amount of depth and gloss after polishing with NTPC.

More soft, black cars!

I’ve tried Sonax on clearcoat systems, but what about soft single stage paints? I had a 1991 Ferrari Testarossa in the shop and I saw that as a great test vehicle for single stage paints. When this car came in, it was covered in such a heavy haze that it looked grey in the right lighting. This was a 20 year old car, and the soft paint was looking very worn and tired with no impact at all. Black paints should scream “look at me” with a high gloss and reflectivity, but this Ferrari just didn’t have that going for itself.

I did two tests on this one…polishing the paint by hand, and by machine. When polishing the paint by hand using NTPC, there was a huge difference in the amount of gloss and depth of color. It also corrected the slight haze pretty easily. So if somebody wanted to use NTPC by hand on soft paints, they can still expect a noticeable difference. When I switched over to using the D/A polisher (black pad, speed 3.5), it took that correction to another level. Not only did I get rid of probably 50% of the light defects, but it added a richness to the color that had to be seen to believe. This car was turning into one with a deep, black, glossy finish that it hadn’t seen in a long, long time. It was almost like it was “black in a bottle” that I was applying to the finish. While the car still had plenty of deep scars and scratches (that would require probably 20-25 hours worth of heavy polishing to remove), the color, clarity, gloss, and reflections that this car now produced would rival just about anything at a car show…in only about 2 hours worth of work!

Here you can see a 50/50 shot of a test section when polished by the D/A.

And when you remove all of that greying-haze, you’re left with a high gloss finish that looks like this:

And outside:

Even in overcast conditions:

OK then, what about using NTPC in multi-stage polishing processes?

I’ve tested it by hand on various surfaces, I tested it by machine in quick one-step polishing, and now it was time to try it in a multiple step polishing process. I was working on a Rosso Corsa Ferrari 355, and have done enough of these that I know what works well with them. But despite that, I saw this as an opportunity to try something completely different. The first step involved heavy compounding using the Meguiar’s Microfiber Cutting Discs and D300 Compound. This got rid of all of the defects, but left a bit of haze on the soft red paint. For comparisons I tried M205 and D301 Finishing Wax, and both of them left a very slight D/A haze that was noticeable under the inspection of the Brinkmann light. I grabbed for the Sonax NTPC, tested it out, and after my initial findings I proceeded to finish the entire car with this combination…leaving an ultra-pure finish on the beautiful red Ferrari. While I probably couldn’t have used this process on harder paints, it was the perfect solution for the soft paint.

Here I am working with the Sonax NTPC on the engine cover of the 355 (the best way to fully correct these is to remove them from the car). And please…no comments on the white legs…there hadn’t been much sunshine here in the Midwest this early in the summer!

And the finished product!

Sonax Nano Tech Paint Cleaner – The Perfect Solution for Soft Paints?

I have dealt with a lof of finicky, soft paints…the ones that can make you lose sleep because they require so much effort and trial and error to get them right. And not every soft paint works the same so when you have a system dialed in for one particular paint, it may (and usually does) require a totally different method and combination for another.

It’s just worked out that I have had a run of soft paints here in the Esoteric Studios, and it has given me a great opportunity to spend a lot of time with Sonax NTPC. So given the stellar results I have had, does it make this product the perfect solution for these finicky soft paints? Well, there are so many different cars and paints out there, so I couldn’t make such a bold claim. But I can say that with the paints I’ve been dealing with lately, it has been the perfect solution for what I have been trying to accomplish. Sure I most likely could have gotten similar results with a rotary and something like Menzerna PO85RD, but it would have taken 2 to 3 times as much effort and time to do it. And with some of these paints, I have found that combination even to leave the slightest marring or swirls (hence the term “finicky” paint!). And since most enthusiasts and many detailers don’t even use the rotary, it makes the option of using NTPC on a D/A machine (or by hand) an even better one.

Final Thoughts on Sonax NTPC

Pros:

Extremely versatile. Can be used by hand or by machine…paint, door jambs, carbon fiber, etc.

AIO product…cleans, polishes, protects

Amazing results with a D/A polisher on ultra soft, dark paints.

Relatively easy to use. A little bit of product goes a long way.

Contains a carnauba wax so that no other steps are necessary.

Cons:

Can be difficult to remove at times if product isn’t fully worked in. I recommend polishing one section, then removing, then moving on to next section.

Bottle easily tips over! It’s a tall, slender bottle and as I moved my way around the car on my work cart, I probably knocked the bottle over a half a dozen times. I then transferred the product over to an easier to handle york-style dispenser.

Contains carnauba wax. Some people may want to finish the process with a sealant, and there could be a bonding issue because of it. If you topped this with another carnauba wax however, you should be fine.

Now everybody is going to know about it, and I’ll no longer have the advantage!

As you can tell, despite a few items listed in the “cons” category, I’ve given this product a glowing review. I believe that Sonax Nano Tech Paint Cleaner is one of the best kept secrets out there in the detailing world right now, and while I could have easily kept it as my own trade secret, I felt it was my responsibility to share it with the industry of both professionals and enthusiasts. While it may not have such stellar results on hard paints, it sure does work wonders on softer paints (Japanese, Porsche’s, and just about anything that is a pure black). And the fact that it can be used effectively both by hand and machine on a multitude of finishes just makes this product so much better.

I am usually very critical on my product selection and am always looking at results and ease of use. If I find a product that I really like, I make it a permanent part of my detailing arsenal, and share it with the world accordingly. Sonax Nano Tech Paint Cleaner is one of those products!

So don’t get yourself caught up in the category of “Paint Cleaner”, as this product is much, much more than that. Whether you’re an enthusiast taking care of your own car, or a professional detailer managing many cars…you should seriously consider adding this product to your lineup and learning just how well it works in so many different applications.

If you have any questions or comments on the product or processes, please leave them in the comment box below. Thank you!

Meguiar’s is continually adding new items to their extensive lineup of professional detailing products, and new for 2011 is their highly anticipated DA Microfiber Correction System. This new system was soft-launched at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas this past fall, but very few details have been released up until now. They have kept detailers and detailing enthusiasts on the edges of their seats for months by teasing with information on their website, and finally after extensive development and testing processes, the official release is now upon us.

Before I go into details about the new system, let me give you some background about my involvement in the testing of the DA Microfiber System. Back in October of 2010, I was contacted by detailing legend Kevin Brown about being a part of a pre-production development team for Meguiar’s for a new product they had been working on for the better part of two years. He said that we would be a part of an elite group of detailers around the U.S. (approximately 28 of us) and other parts of the world, and they would be looking to us to put the product through its paces and provide feedback on our findings. A day or two later we were part of a large conference call directly with Jason Rose, who is the Field Marketing Manager for Professional Products at Meguiar’s. After about an hour on our conference call, we all had a good idea of what the products were, what they were intended for, and what forms of testing that would be required. While they had already completed plenty of testing and development of the new system in-house, they wanted to get it in the hands of the real-world professional detailing community to see how it worked for us. Companies will design and test for a specific application in mind, but the end user may (and often does) find different ways to use it based on their own needs. If there were any weaknesses in the system they wanted to know about it…and we were just the group of detailers that could find them if they existed!

The plan then was to do a soft-launch at the SEMA show (it would be in a showcase, but no information was provided otherwise), and then we would receive our kits immediately afterward.

While at the SEMA Show, a group of us detailers that were a part of the pre-product development team were invited out to a dinner with the big dogs at Meguiar’s. It was truly a who’s-who of the highline professional detailing community including the likes of Todd Helme, Bryan Burnworth, Bob Willis, Richie Carbone, and Kevin Brown. Here’s the cool part though…out of all of the people in attendance, your authors of the DI Ask A Pro Blogby far outnumbered everybody else (how’s that for credibility, eh?). At the dinner representing Detailed Image were DJ Mayo, Greg Nichols, Chad “Rasky” Raskovich, and myself. Ivan Rajic was also a part of the development team, but did not attend the show (you’ve gotta be there next year buddy). It was really a great opportunity to get all of us together at one table for the evening, and despite the fact that we discussed a lot of business, we all had an absolutely fantastic time…thanks Meguiar’s!

Once we returned from SEMA, we received our testing kits and it was time to give it a try!

What is the Meguiar’s DA Microfiber Correction System?

This new system is a revolutionary concept of pad technology, and as the name indicates…the polishing surface of the pads are made out of microfiber! There are two different pads; a compounding pad (burgundy backing foam) and a finishing pad (softer, black backing foam). The microfiber is exactly the same on the two pads, whereas the backing foam’s density differs on each. The compounding pad utilizes a much more dense foam to allow much higher pressures to be utilized to achieve greater correction. The pads are available in 3.37″, 5.5″, and 6.25″ sizes. As for the polishing liquids, these were actually developed after the pads, and the chemists at Meguiar’s were given the task of developing compounds and polishes specifically to work in conjunction with the microfiber pads. With that, you have the D300 DA Compound and the D301 DA Finishing Wax. Once again as the name says, this system is designed to work exclusively on a Dual Action (DA) polisher…not a rotary.

What application was the DA Microfiber System designed for?

This system was designed for light to moderate defect removal on OEM paint (many times aftermarket paint…especially fresh…isn’t DA friendly!). Meguiar’s had the mobile detailer (more on that later), and the detailing shops specializing in volume-based paint rejuvenation in mind during the development process. The system needed to be capable of significant correction capabilities, with long working times of the polishes, and be user-friendly at the same time. When their chemists developed the Compound and Finishing Wax, their goal was to get great results, easy on and off, and without being finicky to use (many polishing products out there have steep learning curves and can be finicky to use). So if this new technology is only designed for light to moderate defect removal, does that mean that it’s not capable of correcting severe defects? Read on…

How to use the Meguiar’s DA Microfiber Correction System

Now that you’ve gotten some background on the development process of this exciting new system, and what it is intended for, let’s take a closer look at how to use it to get best results.

First of all, you need to forget what you’ve known up until now about DA polishing as it relates to speed. Faster isn’t always better, and that’s exactly the case with these new products. To quote Jason Rose, “It’s a slow-down-to-work-faster approach”. You want to slow down the speed of the machine, and your arm movement speed as well to get the best results. Meguiar’s recommends a DA speed of 4800 opm for the compounding stage, and 2800-3800 opm for the finishing stage.

Let’s take a look at the process as I work on this 1992 Ferrari 512 TR. It had moderate to heavy defects, and my goal was to achieve as high of a level of correction as I safely could on this single stage paint.

1. Prime the pad! Just like with the Meguiar’s M105 system, the new DA Microfiber system requires a thorough and even priming of the pad with your compound / polish to achieve greatest results. You want to get a complete coverage of the compound or polish onto the microfiber surface without it being “drenched” in product. In this photo below you can see how I first apply the D300 compound to the pad to start the priming process.

As you can tell from the photos below, this particular cutting disc has been used several times before on single stage red paint. Brand new pads are white.

Now that you’ve applied your compound or polish onto the microfiber pad, use your (clean) hand to completely work the product into the fibers. If you see some bare spots once you’re done, then add a little more product to those areas and work it in again until completely covered. If you apply too much product and the pad seems to be overly saturated, then clean some of it off either with a microfiber towel or blow it with compressed air.

Now that your pad is primed, it should look a bit like this.

2. Add a small drop or two of product directly to the pad. Either too much or too little product can negatively affect your results, but you will quickly learn how much is just enough.

3. Lightly spread the polish around on your working surface. You can do this either with the machine on a slow speed, or off. For me, I simply spread it around quickly with the machine off before I get started.

4. Set your speed accordingly. On the PC7424XP, I find that a speed of about 4.5 works great. Remember, you’re using lower speeds even for the compounding stage than what you might be used to.

5. During the compounding stage, you want to use the same basic overlapping technique as you would with any other product on the DA (left-right, then up-down overlapping each pass 50%). Use slower arm movement than you normally would, and for heavier correction you will use a lot more downward pressure than is normal. You’ll need to experiment a little with the amount of pressure required depending on the paint type. Harder paints or heavier defects will require more pressure to achieve the desired level of correction. Don’t “short cycle” this application. The compound needs to be worked in thoroughly with multiple passes to a fine, thin residue. The compound has long work times if necessary, and you should find the residue afterwards to remove very easily from the surface. If you need to make an additional application to further remove defects, you can lightly mist the working surface with water, and then re-work the area without applying more compound. The water will help to re-activate the compound in the pad and on the surface, and it also helps to keep the pad cleaner as well.

6. Clean your pads often! To allow the microfiber pads to work to their full potential, you will need to clean them out often to remove spent compound and paint/clearcoat. I will typically blow them out with compressed air after each panel. You could use other methods, but in my experience compressed air is a must-have when using this system!

Here are a few photos of what the paint looked like before compounding:

And after! Does this answer your question about whether the new system can tackle serious defects?

Tips on using the Meguiar’s DA Microfiber Correction System

Be sure to use backing plates with short hook & loop material (most are). Tall hook & loop can cause higher operating temperatures, which could lead to premature pad failure.

Do not apply the DA Compound to a hot surface.

After evenly priming the pad, only a small amount of product is needed. If you find it difficult to remove the compound residue, then you’ve used too much.

The Finishing Wax is very simple to use. It is a very mild finishing polish, with a durable wax in the mix (polymer and carnauba blend).

If the paint you’re working with requires an intermediate step, try M205 with a foam finishing pad after the Compound and before the Finishing Wax.

Supplemental wetting agents (mist of water) can help during the compounding stage, but are not recommended for the Finishing Wax stage.

DA haze can be experienced with some paints using this system. There are a number of potential contributing factors; the two most notable are the top-coat hardness of the paint itself and a loaded or dirty disc. If you get severe and persistent D/A hazing on a car, chances are you have a soft paint or a refinished panel (doesn’t matter how long ago.) This is especially true if you experience DA hazing with the second step DA Finishing Wax and the DA Finishing Disc. Some paints simply don’t like the DA action, no matter what product or pad you use (for example refinished paint tends to not like DA polishing in general).

Final Thoughts

I started using this new system immediately upon arrival, and for the past 3 months I have used the compounding system exclusively (with the exception of some 4″ spot pad compounding on the rotary), regardless of paint type, level of defects, hardness, etc. I have used it on single stage paint, clear coat systems, incredibly hard paint (Lamborghini), very soft paint, and I have even used it to clear up sanding marks! While Meguiar’s may not have designed it for really heavy defects, it sure is capable of fixing them. Is this a game-changing technology? In my professional opinion it certainly is. Is it going to be the perfect solution for every detailer and every paint type? No it isn’t…but then again, show me ANY product that is perfect for every situation. There are always limitations.

One important note that I should make on this new DA system is that it was also designed to achieve rotary-like correction capability (or better) on a dual-action polisher. A rotary polisher requires a very high level of skill and experience to do correctly without the safety issues of burning edges and creating swirls and holograms. The myth is that if you want to do heavy paint correction you need to use a rotary. This myth is wrong with today’s pad and polish technologies and techniques. I network with many of the top highline detailers in the country, and most of us are doing our heavy correction and compounding with the dual-action polisher, not the rotary!

Another big plus for this new system is that on the compounding stage in particular, you can use just one or two pads for the entire car if you’re able to regularly clean it out with compressed air or by brushing. And given the fact that these pads take up much less space (very thin) than traditional foam pads, it will be a huge plus for mobile detailers since they won’t have to carry boxes full of different compounding pads. I recently jumped on an airplane for a detailing trip, and these pads were priceless. I obviously had little room in my carrying case for all of my equipment, and I just brought a few DA Microfiber pads and I was all set.

I also took a little time to do some comparisons with other products on the market just to see how this new system stacked up. For all-out correction capability, I still find that the Surbuf pad teamed up with M105 compound has the edge in cut. Having said that though, the Surbuf pad doesn’t finish down as well as the Microfiber pad (nor is it as safe IMO), so it just depends on what your needs are. I’ve also successfully used M105 with the new Microfiber compounding pad with great results. It has the slightest edge over D300 in terms of overall cut, but runs hotter, dusts more, and isn’t as easy to remove from the surface.

As for the Finishing Wax, I think some people may still want to use their sealant of choice instead, so they will opt for another finishing polish that doesn’t include wax. That is fine, and I have done that a lot myself (D300/Microfiber pad for compounding, followed by a black foam finishing pad with Menzerna 106FA on the rotary). I do however, think that the Finishing Wax will be a huge hit for single step polishing, so you get the bonus flexibility in the product. I have used it for this purpose quite a few times, and have been extremely happy with the results and ease of use. And since it polishes and waxes in one step, that will save a tremendous amount of time since you won’t need to do yet another process or two afterwards. If I had a volume detailing business that focused on the more quick details, I would knock it out of the park with the Meguiar’s Finish Wax when performing one-step polishes.

I’ve said a lot of good things about this new product / technology, so it’s only fair to point out some areas that might be of a concern to some people.

You really need to have access to compressed air when working with the compounding system in particular if you want to get the best results.

When using compressed air, you create a tremendous amount of dust when cleaning out the pads. After one single stage red Ferrari, my entire work area was totally covered in red compounding dust from blowing out the pads.

On some paint systems (aftermarket or soft), finishing with a rotary may be your best bet. This is not a knock against the MF / Finishing Wax, because in each case where I couldn’t get it to finish down, I tried other products on the PC and couldn’t get them to finish down either! You know that when Optimum Poli-Seal and a blue pad mars the finish…you’re dealing with some seriously finicky soft paint!

The system works too well, and when general enthusiasts start to get the same results as what we professional can get, then we might be out of a job!

Well there you have it…the good, the bad, and everything in between. I’ve put more testing into this new product than perhaps anything else out there, and working with Meguiar’s directly in the pre-production development has been a great experience. They were very receptive to all of our questions and concerns, and in the end I am quite pleased to have been part of the process.

Meguiar’s has developed game-changing technology here; particularly on the compounding side of the equation. Heavy defect removal, ease of use, and with the relative safety of using a dual action polisher is a winner in my book!

The time has finally come! Meguiar’s new polishing system is out in the open and having been one of the lucky few to try and test the product in its early stages, I’d like to post a bit about my experience. Due to a small flood in my basement, I unfortunately lost all my photo/video documentation, so this article will be a text-only review of my experience with the new DA system from Meguiar’s.

The system

The system consists of two liquids and two pads. It’s as simple as it can get and I believe it’ll be a new go to product for many detailers out there. Personally, I’ve already adapted it into my M105, M205, 106ff, 85rd arsenal that I use on almost every detail. The system is very well done and works wonders at not only removing scratches but finishing down well and leaving protection on the paint. After testing it for a couple months, mostly comparing to M105/M205, on a few different paints, here are my thoughts on each of the liquid/pad combos as well as evaluations of the system as a whole.

Correcting Compound

The Correcting Compound with its corrective pad is, in short, amazing. There is absolutely no dusting with this compound and splatter is a thing of the past. It has a fairly long work time for such a compound and is very easy to use, compared to something like M105. The pad aids in the use as it’s very small compared to a regular foam pad and the microfiber is very easy to control, both on the Flex DA and a PC 7424XP. Comparing it again to M105, the Correcting Compound seemed to be a bit less aggressive, but coupled with the cutting microfiber pad it could easily match the correction M105 does with something like a Lake Country Orange pad. However, the fact that it’s so much easier to use, doesn’t dust and is much easier to remove, the new system really takes the cake. I have yet to do side by side testing on all the different pads, but the Correcting Compound so far looks like huge competition to M105 and is definitely a product I will use regularly.

Finishing Wax

The Finishing Wax is the perfect name for the second member of this polishing system. It’s exactly that… a wax that lightly corrects paint and leaves a great looking, protected finish. As with the Correcting Compound, it is simply a pleasure to use. Dust and splatter are non-existent and the lubricity of the product is plentiful. Work time isn’t as long as one would imagine after pouring the product and working with it, but it is very long indeed and does good correction along the way. It easily corrects the slight swirling left behind by the compound and finishes down really well. In comparison to M205, I would say the Finishing Wax has very similar work time and finishes down just as well. It also has just about the same cutting ability. As with the Correcting Compound, the Finishing Wax is easily one of my go-to products now, especially for one-step detailing work.

Pros

Some of the pros of the Meguiar’s DA Microfiber System:

Extremely easy to use, even for a beginner such as my new detail assistant Dan, with only 5 hrs polishing under his belt

Delivers on the promise of great correction and a nicely finished surface

There’s really no dusting, splatter or any of the usual annoyances we get with polishes in general

Work time is nice and long for both liquids, making them very easy to use

Wiping off residue after polishing a surface is the easiest I’ve encountered so far

The different pad sizes allow the user to easily adapt to odd areas, surfaces or tasks

Small 3” pads work great for spot correction and headlight restoration

Cons

The only negative I have experienced is that the system is too aggressive for very soft paints. I own a BMW with jet black paint, aka paint from hell, and the Finishing Wax with its appropriate pad is simply too aggressive to finish down good enough to call it done. Whether used with the PC or Flex DA, it would always leave micromarring on the paint, making it a bit “cloudy”. This is easily fixed by using the Finishing Wax on a gentler finishing foam pad, so I was left wishing there was a third pad in the system, designed specifically to solve this issue. Can’t complain much though as the system definitely does what it sets out to do, offer great correcting ability on a DA polisher.

Conclusion

As you can easily tell, I’m extremely happy with the new system from Meguiar’s. I think they’ve once again out done themselves as they did with the introductions of M105/M205 a few years back. This new microfiber system will definitely find its way into most or all detailing shops, and, more importantly, into the hands of DIY enthusiasts’ with no rotary experience. It definitely helps to bridge the gap even more between DA polishing and the more aggressive, potentially dangerous, rotary polishing process. Of all the great things about this new system, I believe the ease of use is what will set it apart from any other competition and make it a favorite to many that have been waiting for some time now.

As always, I hope the article was a bit informative and thanks for reading!

Introduction:

As many of you may know, Meguiar’s has been developing this new microfiber polishing system for several years now, and during this time they have reached out to professional detailers across the world looking for helpful feedback in dialing this system in. While I was not one of the original development testers, I was one of many lucky detailers selected to test out the released product before it went to launch. I received my sample kit from Meguiar’s on December 1st 2010, and have had a little over two months to play around with it now.

Product Description:

The Meguiar’s Microfiber Polishing System consists of two polishing liquids, the D300 Compound which utilizes SMAT technology and the D301 Finishing Wax which uses polymers, silicones and carnauba for a high gloss protection. The system also consists of two types of microfiber polishing pads, one for cutting and one for finishing. Each liquid was developed to be used with its correlating pad.

Initial Product Observations:

1. Packaging: N/A

2. Directions: For the D300 Compound, Meguiar’s recommends using a speed of 4800opm. Priming of the pads is also recommended. After priming, only a small amount of product is needed to complete a 20” x 20” section (I use 3-4 pea sized dots). The D301 Finishing wax is recommended for use with speeds of 2800-3800opm.

3. Consistency (liquids): On the thicker side, similar to D151.

4. Color: D300 is pinkish, D301 is purple/blue, cutting pad has maroon foam, and the finishing pad has black foam.

5. Scent (liquids): D300 has a pleasant cinnamon scent and D301 has a pleasant blueberry scent.

6. Size: Pads are available in 3”, 5”, and 6”. Liquids will come in the new 16oz bottles, 32oz bottle and gallon size. (Note: the 16oz bottles are pretty cool!)

-Another test panel, this time with the 3″ cutting pad and D300 on the PCXP followed by D301 on a 3″ finishing pad.

Panel before

After one section pass with the D300 Compound on a 3″ pad with the PCXP

After a quick pass of D301 on a 3″ finishing pad…the D300 Compound finished well enough that the difference is minimal on this paint.

-Removing some 3000 grit wet sanding scratches with the D300 Compound on the PCXP

Sanded panel

50/50 shot after one section pass

Whole panel, which finished down very well with the D300 Compound!

Zoomed in

-Doing some headlight correction with the 3″ pad on the PC7424

Headlight before

Primed 3″ pad

50/50 shot

After results

-Works well on emblems too

Before

After

Pros:

-D300 Compound

1. Fast cutting

2. Rotary like results from a D/A

3. Very little, if any, dusting

4. Scent is pleasant and a great addition

5. Amount of product used is very low

6. Product wipe-off is very easy

7. Finishes down very well on most paints

8. Cost-effective

9. Can be used with virtually any D/A polisher

-D301 Finishing Wax

1. Works fast

2. No dusting

3. Extremely easy to use

4. Scent is pleasant and a great addition

5. Great follow-up to the compound that saves time

6. Finishes very well on most paints

7. Very wet and reflective gloss

8. Nice slick feel

9. Amount of product used is very low

10. Can be used with virtually any D/A polisher

-Micro Fiber pads

1. Nicely constructed pads which should be very durable (when used within recommended speeds)

2. Machine washable

3. Low cost

4. Available in 3”, 5”, and 6” pads

Cons:

-D300 Compound

1. Thicker consistency requires more effort to dispense product, which some users may not like. (This design feature was likely done to reduce sling, much like Meguiar’s D151)

2. May not work well on some paints. When testing this system I intentionally wanted to test it on what I’ve found to be “troublesome” paints when it comes to D/A polishing. My testing resulted in noticeable marring on these finishes, which is consistent with my past experiences using D/A polishers and other polishes/pads on those same paint types. (Your individual results may vary)

-D301 Finishing Wax

1. Thicker consistency requires more effort to dispense product, which some users may not like. (This design feature was likely done to reduce sling, much like Meguiar’s D151)

2. May not work well on some paints. When testing this system I intentionally wanted to test it on what I’ve found to be “troublesome” paints when it comes to D/A polishing. My testing resulted in noticeable marring on these finishes, which is consistent with my past experiences using D/A polishers and other polishes/pads on those same paint types. (Your individual results may vary)

-Micro Fiber pads

1. If the cutting pads are used above the recommended 4800opm speed setting, users may experience pad failure, where the backing material separates from the foam. It’s hard to really categorize this as a con for the very reason that you’d be using the product in a manner it was not designed for. Using these pads at the 4800opm setting is still very effective at removing defects, and it also keeps the vibration down on the tool. It’s strongly recommended that you try and stay at the recommended speed setting as much as possible.

2. Pads need to be kept clean for optimal results, and cleaning on the fly is best done using compressed air. While this is not a con for me, users who do not have an air compressor will have to use a brush or towel, which does not fluff up the fibers as well as compressed air.

Final Observations and Summary:

Overall, I’d say this system has exceeded my expectations. It’s also very apparent to me that Meguiar’s spent a lot of time developing the products. While I expected the polishes and pads to work well, as it’s what I’ve come to expect from Meguiars, it was actually the little things about this system that showed how much thought went into developing these products. For instance, the new bottles are a little larger than the traditional 12oz bottles. The larger 16oz bottles can be perfect for the mobile detailer as it can save them from having to bring along gallon sized containers for re-filling, and space is often a factor for mobile detailers. The self-cleaning, non-removable tips on the new bottles are a welcome change, as I’m sure we all hate those little red tips that always seem to get lost. The 16oz bottles are also individually labeled, which is great in itself as it helps differentiate them from each other. On that note, I’m sure most people don’t give much thought on product color and scent, but I think Meguiar’s went out of their way in developing these two liquids. How many of you have ever mistakenly grabbed the wrong bottle because they all tend to be similar in color and smell? I know I’ve mixed up M105 and M205 more than a few times now. Whether this was intended or not, Meguiar’s has not only labeled each bottle for us, but they have also added a distinct color and scent for each liquid. So even if you don’t see the label, the color or scent should definitely trigger your brain to say, “hey silly, you grabbed the wrong bottle again!”

The one thing people also need to keep in mind is that this system was developed mainly for high-volume or production shops. That’s not to say it won’t work extremely well outside their intended market, but for detailers who tend to do more high-end detailing, you may find yourself only using parts of this system. The D300 compound and microfiber pads are probably my favorite part, as the ease of use, fast cut, low dust qualities make them a joy to use over traditional compounds. The D301 Finishing Wax does a great job of finishing out and adding protection all in one step, which is great for those clients who are only looking for a quick one or two step correction. However, if you are like me and do mostly major corrections, you may find yourself wanting a little more perfection out of the final step, as well as a dedicated product for paint protection. The D300 compound finishes down very well on most paints and you can easily follow it up with M205 or similar finishing polish and still keep most correction jobs to only two polishing steps.

So just how well does the D300 actually correct? I’d say it’s pretty close to M105, but the M105 definitely has the edge in terms of overall cut. That being said I still had no trouble removing moderate to heavy defects from all the paints I tried it on, as well as removing 2000 and 3000 grit sanding marks from several paints. The D300’s ease of use and low dust will definitely make it my new “go to” product for most correction jobs, but when serious correction is needed M105 will still be my heavy hitter.

Unfortunately I did not get to test the durability of the D301 Finishing wax. Most my test subjects were from a friend’s used car lot, and after I got done making a bunch of shiny spots on his cars he sent them to be cleaned-up.

Note: Meguiar’s strongly recommends that you use their backing plates with this system. The hook and loop backing is different and it allows easier pad removal, and it also helps keep the pads cooler. For the 6″ pads you will want to get the S6BP backing plate. For the 5″ pads you will want to get the W67DA backing plate. For the 3″ pads you’ll need to get the S3BP backing plate. I was using non-Meguiar’s backing plates at first and there is definitely a difference.

So that’s pretty much it…I’d definitely recommend picking up either the 5″ starter kit or the 6″ starter kit and giving the new system a try, I doubt you will be disappointed.

I’d also like to thank Corey (CEE DOG) for allowing me to use his nice little “product review” layout, and I’d especially like to thank Meguiar’s and Jason Rose for allowing me to take part in this prerelease testing!

Well it’s about time! I’ve been testing this system out for a few months now, and whole system has been working the bugs out for a few years- a testament to development process that a top notch company goes through. Meguiar’s has been tweaking the system, removing the variables, making every possible oops a refinement. While this is not the holy grail of detailing, this is a great system for the improving the results of every detailer.

While working at SEMA I got to work with the system and while there is a learning curve to this, its not a steep one. I got to work with the system at SEMA with none other than Kevin Brown, a top notch detailer, but more importantly a “detailing scientist”… he seeks to really understand the why and how of detailing. I learned a bunch from that experience.

When I got home my box of supplies showed up, and within a few days winter came in hard and detailing dropped to a stop. My testing consisted of many hoods and single panels over the months to this point in time. I tested it, compared it, and tried to find its flaws, its benefits, and report back. Meguiar’s allowed us to be frank, honest, and I hope my review will be educational to you. Think about it, this was a big risk to have people testing it before the release that are NOT EMPLOYED BY MEGUIAR’S, they wanted some of the most experienced and full of candor people testing………….and many are writing about the testing right here on Detailed Image!

The system introduces detailers to two new liquids and two new pads. The liquids are 300 compound and 301 finishing wax. The pads are a microfiber material firmly bonded (I tried to soak the pads in harsh detergents to see if they would delaminate) to two different densities of foam backing, a red colored one for compounding (higher density) and a black for finishing (less dense). I had three sized of pad a 6″, 5″ and spot 3″ pad to test. The liquids are from the same family of SMAT media in the 105 and 205 compounds, they are different colors; red for compound and grey for finishing wax. The compound is very similar to 105, in my experience it doesn’t quite cut as “fast” as 105, but no dusting and longer working time. I tested 105 and 300 in a side by side test trying to control all the variables as possible and while I could not photograph the differences I found that on most paints, 105 finished a bit better……..enough to dismiss 300? Nope. I like 300, but 105 for me seems to finish a bit better and the paint is more ready for the second polishing step. The 301 finishing wax is a polish and a wax all in one. It removes any haze or faint holograms left behind from the 300. It lays down a pretty durable wax too. I was able to visit a few touchless car washes which have pretty strong detergents to see how durable it was. While it diminished after about 6 harsh washes (one a week) it was still protecting, now this was also during a Utah winter with the salt slurry on the paint. I was able to remove it with Chemicals guys citrus wash in a pretty high ratio. Personally I like 205 better, because I like to use other waxes based on my clients needs. I foresee that there will be clients that 301 will be a perfect fit so I’ll keep it around in my bag of tricks. Over all the system is going to be a great tool for the weekend warrior to speed the process up with good results. The downside for the weekend warrior is that now you won’t need all weekend to polish out the cars, you can get to the honey dos! Thanks Meguiar’s!

This was a hammered black hood

At this point I’ve just used Megs 300, a bit of haze but easily cleaned by Megs 301

here is the side by side of 300 and 105, as you can seek its nearly impossible to photograph the differences.

Some pretty visible scratches on the paint, were removed with the two liquids.

If you’re a detailing enthusiast reading through some of our how-to articles, or ones where we showcase the entire detailing process on a particular vehicle, you may have picked up on us pro detailers talking about 1-step and 2-step polishing. And if you’re a detailer or hobbyist, you probably know that this refers to how many pad/polish combinations that we use to complete a job. So given that, you can assume that using PoliSeal on a white pad would be a 1-step polish, and using Meguiar’s M105 with an orange pad followed by Meguiar’s M205 on a black pad would be a 2-step process.

Now that we have the basic definition established, let’s take a much closer look at the terms because each type of process can be broken down even further (especially the 1-step).

The 1-step Polishing Process

As we’ve already agreed, a 1-step polishing process means just that…completing the job with one pad and polish combination. All 1-steps aren’t created equal however, because there are a lot of different factors involved that determine what combination we used based on the desired results we’re looking for. As professional detailers, or even weekend warriors, we’re faced with decisions based on the condition of the vehicle, the level of correction that we wish to achieve, the amount of time we have to work within, and the budget that the customer has established. I have full details that I do (wash, wheels, machine polish, interior, etc) that only take me about 3 hours WITH a 1-step polish, and then I have the same basic package that will take me 8-10 hours with a 1-step polish. How can this be?

Let’s take a look at 3 different examples of 1-step polish jobs so you can get a better idea of what all is involved.

The Basic: This one would fall into my 3-hour “complete detail” package that I referred to. For this one, I would typically use Optimum PoliSeal and a white polishing pad on a Porter Cable 7424XP buffer. What I hope to achieve with this level is to remove light haze and very light swirls on the paint, deep clean the surface, make a noticeable difference in the gloss level, and add a layer of protection. With a versatile product like PoliSeal, you can use it very quickly and make a big impact in the overall look and feel of the finish, or you can take your time and work it much longer to achieve an even greater level of defect correction. If the vehicle just needs a quick touch-up, or there are time / budget constraints, then this type of 1-step polish can make a significant difference. For detailers just starting out…this should be a staple package being offered.

The Intermediate: When you step up to the intermediate level 1-step polish, you’re typically looking for more defect correction capability than what the basic would provide, yet you still want it to be relatively quick. With soft paint (Acura, Lexus, Porsche), you can get very good results even at this level…upwards of 60%~80% in some cases (not severe defects, and on easily correctable paint like Porsche). When I need to perform a detail at this level, I’ll typically grab for Meguiar’s M205 polish with a black or white pad and the PC. The reason I go for M205 is because it’s a non-diminishing abrasive polish…meaning it works quickly and finishes down very fine in most cases. Depending on how much correction you’re going for, you can expect to add a couple of hours to the amount of time it would take you on the basic 1-step.

The Advanced: When performing this level of a 1-step polish, you’re typically going for as much correction as you can while at the same time finishing down very well for a 1-step polish. You can’t go too aggressive otherwise it won’t finish down well enough to be a finished product. If you go too light of a combination then you’re giving up a lot of potential correcting power. You’re also not as concerned with time or the customer has a bigger budget to work with when performing the advanced 1-step. So what polish/pad/machine combination do you go with? Well, that depends on a lot of different factors…what kind of paint you’re dealing with (hard, medium, soft), what color the car is, and how bad of condition it’s in just to name a few. For most cars, you can use Menzerna Power Finish (PO203S) on a white pad with the PC (or rotary) and achieve some pretty amazing results. Menzerna polishes utilizes diminishing abrasives that have to be completely broken down to achieve the best results. This takes patience and time, but you will be rewarded in the end. For a total detail inside and out with this level of 1-step machine polishing, I can easily take 8-10 hours from start to finish (including time spent on applying a sealant afterwards). If I’m doing this level, I’m taking the time necessary to ensure that the finish is as good as it can get for just a 1-step polish. I’ve worked on cars with this level before that have had a lot of swirls and holograms, and I’ve achieved better than a 95% correction rate! (see BMW M3 article).

So as you can see, there are a lot of different ways of conducting a 1-step polish. It can be from 3 hours, upwards of 10 hours. It can provide light correction, and it can go all the way up to almost perfect. So knowing what you have to offer, what polishes work at what levels, and what exactly you can achieve at each one, you should be able to provide the perfect level of polishing for the price or the time you have to work with.

The 2-step Polishing Process

As we had previously defined, the 2-step polishing process means that you’ve used 2 different polish/pad cobinations. The first step is typically an aggressive polish or compound teamed up with a cutting pad. The second step utilizes a finishing polish and pad to remove any marring leftover in the paint from the first step, and to further refine the finish. If you were to just stop after the compounding / heavy polishing step, the paint would be left with marring, light swirls, and / or holograms (also referred to as buffer trails).

Even within the 2-step category however, there are different levels that you can work with depending on the desired correction level, time, and/or budget. If you want to achieve a high level of correction with a stunning finish, then you could do a straight 2-step with combinations like M105 / M205, Menzerna Super Intensive Polish / 106FA, or one that I have been using a lot of lately…Meguiar’s M105 on a PC followed by Menzerna 106FA on the rotary. You simply hit each section one time with each combination, and the correction level is what it is (typically it will be very good!).

Another option that you have is to stick with the traditional 2-step combination, but spend more time on the compounding step to achieve a greater level of correction. Some paints are hard, finicky, or have deeper imperfections that won’t correct after one pass with your compound, and you need to work them a bit in order to achieve that next 10-15% of correction. So you may have some parts of the car where you can simply utilize one compounding step, whereas others you may have even 2 or 3. Now some people may argue that if you compound a section twice, then it counts as 2 steps (leaving you with a 3-step after you do your finish polishing). Semantics aside, you’re still just using 2 different polish and pad combinations. The goal at this level is to achieve the highest level of correction as possible while finishing down so fine that all you can see in the paint is pure and clear reflections.

So when I’m evaluating the finish of a car, and I know that by speaking with the customer they’re interested in major correction, I may break the pricing option down based on whether I’m doing a straight 2-step, or one where I’m chasing defects with multiple compounding stages.

The Hybrid Polishing Process

Hybrid? Would that make it a 1.5-step process? What I mean here is to mix the processes up as required; once again being based on the condition of the car, the type of paint, and the budget or time you have to work within. Let’s say for instance that your customer wants the car to look as good as it possibly can, but just can’t afford or just doesn’t want the “full deal”, multi-step process that you have to offer. If for instance it’s a dark colored vehicle, you especially know that you can only go so aggressive with a 1-step process otherwise you’ll leave holograms. But if you go with a less aggressive combination, then it will still have a lot of visible swirls particularly on the horizontal areas that you see a lot (hood, trunk lid, tops of fenders, etc). I was faced with a similar situation this past summer on a black Ferrari 612 where the customer wanted his car to look good, but he didn’t see the need to go for the full-blown detail. Knowing what time budget I had to work within, I came up with a hybrid system for this particular car where I did 2-step polishing on all the areas that can be seen, and 1-step polishing on the lower parts of the car. So in the end the parts that you can’t see in the direct sunshine ended up with the amount of correction that I said could be expected for that price range, and the upper parts of the car came out almost flawless. So I kept to the customer’s budget, I didn’t donate my own time (nobody likes working for free!), and the customer received a product that looked better than he was expecting. The moral of the story here is that you don’t have to get stuck in the definition of either a 1-step or a 2-step polish. The formula was perfect for this car and for this particular customer and it worked out well for everybody. Whatever you do however, don’t perform a hybrid polish and try to sell it as a multi-step polish! If you sell somebody on a near perfect finish, and you only achieve 50% correction on the lower parts, the customer won’t be happy, and word will spread fast! Sell the hybrid as something between the 1-step and 2-step, and make it clear to the customer that the visible areas of the car will look better than the lower parts.

Well, that about covers it! Hopefully you now have a better understanding about the different polishing processes, and what exactly is involved. Don’t get yourself caught up in thinking that each level only has one possible result because you can obviously see now that you can go a lot of different ways within each one of them.

Thanks as always, and be sure to post your comments and questions below if you have any.

]]>http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/1-step-2-step-the-various-types-of-polishing-processes/feed/22Reason to carry more than one product…http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/reason-to-carry-more-than-one-product/
http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/reason-to-carry-more-than-one-product/#commentsSat, 18 Dec 2010 14:09:10 +0000http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/?p=3558Just a little something that I believe that pro detailers, weekend warriors, and DIY details all should understand…that there is a necessity to carry more than one specific product for each step.

Just the other day, while working on a 2008 Range Rover, I came across a situation which luckily I was able to overcome. I have been in this same situation a couple of times, but this time it was a little more serious.

After compounding the car for heavy defect removal with Meguiars 105 compound, I moved onto the next mid level polishing step. Usually, my go to product for this step is menzerna 203 on a white LC polishing pad. However, based on the cool/damp climate conditions in the warehouse I was working in, and the soft paint, my go to combo wasnt working out. It was very sticky and leaving the finish VERY hazy, worse than 105 did! Luckily, I had Meguiars 205 on hand, and just by switching to that product, I was able to finish the second step with ease! Without a different mid level polish, I would not have been able to get the car finished with the conditions at hand, which would have led to an unhappy client, something I would never want! After the 205 step, I followed with Menzerna 85rd on a black lc pad for more gloss and wetness!

Moral of the story: be prepared to tackle any situation with an assortment of products just in case you find yourself in a sticky situation!

DJ Mayo of Reflections Detailing and Todd Cooperider of Esoteric Auto Detail team up on a 36-hour paint correction detail on a stunning Rolls Royce Phantom.

A short while back I was in a bit of a bind…I had much more major paint correction work to do in a short period of time than I could handle myself. First up was a massive Rolls Royce Phantom, then a Maserati Quattroporte, and finally a Ferrari 360 Spider. All 3 jobs required a tremendous amount of work, and they needed to be completed within a week’s time. Knowing that I couldn’t fit 80 hours worth of detailing myself into just a week, I called up my buddy DJ Mayo of Reflections Detailing and asked him to make the 400+ mile trip from Virginia to Ohio to help me out.

DJ and I have worked on cars together before, and I knew that I could count on him to make this marathon week happen without any issues. In the detailing world it’s rare to find two detailers with very similar styles, ability, techniques, passion, and attention to details that can work together in a seemless manner, but DJ and I really complement one another when doing this level of work. We put in long hard days, we have fun trying to out-do each other, and in the end we produce amazing results (if I don’t say so myself!).

OK, so let’s take a closer look at the Rolls Royce Phantom. Perhaps the most distinguishable feature of this car is its sheer size. While it might not be the absolute king of large cars, it has to at least make the podium! At over 19 feet long, more than 5 feet tall, and 6.5 feet wide, this beast has a tremendous amount of surface area to work with. Weighing in at a hefty 5800 pounds, the 453hp V-12 motor still propels this freightliner to an impressive 0-60mph time in around 5.7 seconds. Anything under a 6-second 0-60 time is good, but when you look at this car in person to see just how big it is, those times become that much more stunning.

The hand-crafted, built to order Phantom is a marvel of luxury and refinement, and everything about it exudes quality. The touch, the feel, and the action of all of the controls of this car is at or above the level of any vehicle I’ve experienced before. The entire time DJ and I were working on it, we were in total agreement that it would make the ultimate road trip vehicle!

Paint assessment:

Upon initial inspection of the Phantom, I noticed that it had a moderate amount of swirls when viewed in the sunshine, and under close inspection with my Brinkmann LED light I could tell that it had been compounded at some point with heavy wool pads, and not finished down properly. This was most likely done at the factory as they wetsand the paint to get rid of orange peel and to promote the highest level of reflection in the paint. Wool is good for restoring gloss after the sanding process, but if the proper refinement steps aren’t taken afterwards, you will be left with deep, circular defects that can become very difficult to remove. Unfortunately this is pretty common with high-end, hand built vehicles. While these vehicles look good when they’re new (or used for that matter), the finish can be taken to entirely new levels once a true paint correction specialist has taken the time to refine it.

Here is a photo of the “before” condition of the paint when viewed in intense lighting:

Just given the amount of surface area we had to cover, we knew that we had our work cut out for us…

The Detail Begins…

Knowing that we had 3 long jobs lined up for the week, we decided to tackle the Phantom first since it would be the biggest job of them all. We might as well get the unpleasant part out of the way first!

We quickly realized that the car was too big for the lift, and quite frankly it worked out for the best because the last thing we needed was for this behemoth to be any higher off of the ground. So we pulled it in to straddle the lift, and got busy. While I started with the pre-polishing prep process (washing, claying, taping), DJ worked on the 21″ wheels with the safe and effective P21S Wheel Gel and an EZ Detail Brush.

The painted surfaces were stripped of any remnants of previous waxes or sealants to aid in the polishing process, and then we proceeded to test combinations of compounds, polishes, and pads to determine the best course of action on this particular car. It’s always a smart idea to take a small section of the car to figure out a system to avoid any problems, issues, or wasted time later in the process.

Under our halogen lights, DJ first tried Menzerna Super Intensive Polish and an Orange Light Cutting Pad on the Makita Rotary to see if that would do the trick. Upon initial inspection it looked like a winner, but after looking more closely in the Brinkmann LED lights, we realized it wasn’t getting the level of cut that we needed. So our first impression was that the paint was relatively hard and therefore would require a more aggressive combination. As you can see from the work cart, we have a selection of bufers, polishes, and pads ready for our test section.

Rolls Royce Paint Proves to be a Challenge!

Sometimes when performing paint correction you run into paints that simply don’t want to cooperate. While you have incredibly easy cars/paint like Porsche on one end of the spectrum, you end up with paints like on our Rolls Royce that can give you nightmares! And sometimes you get cars where you find that your approach, tools, techniques, and products that work well at the start of the car aren’t cutting it at the end of the car. The difference in highly skilled professional detailers from those who don’t produce as good of results is in the ability to diagnose the needs of the paint, select the proper tools and techniques for that particular car on that particular day, and the ability to adapt and change during the course of the detail to meet the needs of the paint. Knowing when to change the approach and techniques to maintain a high level of paint refinement is absolutely critical at this level of detailing.

While DJ was developing a system on the trunk lid of the car, he was finding that some of the traditional methods and combinations simply weren’t working. Since he is a true pro at what he does, and he is so passionate about producing the best finish you can get, he soldiered on for hours in search of the right combination…the Holy Grail so to speak (it’s a British car afterall, so I’m allowed to throw in a Monty Python reference!). In fun I was giving him a hard time about spending so much time on just the the trunk lid, but he gave it right back to me claiming that it would be the best looking trunk lid anybody has ever seen!

So once we had a bit of a system dialed in, I proceeded to compound one side of the car for quite a few hours (all the while DJ was STILL working on the trunk lid!). Meguiar’s M105 Ultimate Cut Compound paired with a Cyan cutting pad on the Makita rotary proved to be the winning combination for this step in the refinement process. As you can see from the photos below, just the compounding stage alone made a significant difference in the overall look of the paint.

Here on the lower rocker panel, you can see the darker blue color to the right where I have compounded, and to the left you can see the amount of haze from the swirls that prevent the true color from showing through.

Here’s another “before” example of the left rear quarter panel prior to compounding:

And here it is after compounding, yet before we went back with finish polishing to further refine the paint. Already you can see a huge difference in the clarity now that the swirls, buffer marks, and general haze has been permanently removed.

Since everybody loves the immediate before and after photos, I’ve included a couple more of them. This was the rear bumper:

And after compounding:

Now that we had a bit of our compounding stage complete, we stopped to have lunch and to give our eyes a break. During the compounding stage, it requires a tremendous amount of focus when you’re literally chasing down thousands of small scratches and inspecting and re-inspecting each square inch to ensure that all defects are removed. If you work continuously, you may lose focus and get sloppy. Take a break…

Upon return from lunch we once again grabbed out Brinkmann LED inspection lights to look over the areas we had just worked on. To our dismay, we found that some of the defects had “returned”. A few things can cause this to happen. One of them can be from a compound or polish filling in the defects instead of correcting them. This can happen when they’re not properly used, or if it’s simply a product that has a lot of fillers in it. We had been using Isopropyl Alcohol to wipe down the surface for inspection and knew it wasn’t a problem of filling. Another cause of this is when you heat up the panel / paint and it actually expands. When this happens it appears that the defects are gone since some of them have “closed up” because of the heated expansion of material. Once it has had ample time to cool however (over lunch break), you can find that not all of the defects are actually gone.

At this point you can panic, or you can just go back and methodically re-work those areas, and those on the entire car until you know that it is fully corrected. Yes, it requires more time and patience, but it can make the difference between a good detail, and a great detail. DJ and I chose the route of the great detail and continued to check our work and refine the finish until it was truly and fully corrected. You don’t run into paints like this very often, but when you do it can be frustrating if you allow it to be. So take the advice from the words on the cover of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and “DON’T PANIC!” (yet another obscure British movie reference…I’m full of worthless trivia such as this!).

OK then, back to the detail. I’ve repeated myself in saying how big this car is, but here are a few photos to illustrate that point. No, DJ isn’t 4’11″…this car is really, really big!

And this one is one of my absolute favorites! Look how much DJ has to strain and reach just to polish the hood of this beast. It was difficult to get this shot because I was laughing so hard at the sight I was seeing!

Since I knew how much of a challenge it had been for DJ to work on the hood of the car, and considering I’m such a nice guy and great friend to him, I decided to put him in charge of the roof as well. One of these days he’s going to get me back for this one…

While using a small, 4″ spot pad on a car this size won’t get you very far, it was a necessary evil considering the curvature and body lines in some of the areas. Here I am working the finishing stage with a white polishing pad and Menzerna 106FA polish.

Once our compounding and polishing stages were complete, we took great lengths to get all of the residue and dust out of the cracks and crevices. Here DJ is using compressed air (with proper ear protection) to clean the areas that can’t be reached by hand.

The next step in the process was to detail the dirty engine bay. Usually we will clean this during the washing stage of the car, but to be quite honest with you, I don’t recall while we waited to do it afterwards!

Now we’re moving on to the cavernous interior. The luxurious white leather (12 cow hides to make this car!) was a bit soiled, so I used Leatherique Prestine Clean to tidy it up. By itself, the Prestine Clean does a great job as a leather cleaner, conditioner, and protectant. Highly recommended…

We’re getting close to the end here, so it was time to prep the vehicle further for the application of a durable sealant. Since we used so many different kinds of polishes on this car, we decided to re-wash it afterwards to ensure that all of the polishing residue was fully removed from the surface to ensure a good bond. For this step we used Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Clear at paint prep ratio to strip the surface.

After 36 hours of compounding and refining the paint to remove at the very least 95% of all defects, performing a complete engine detail, and thoroughly detailing out the interior of the Phantom, we were ready to take a bunch of photos to show off the renewed beauty of this car. We know that it came from the Rolls Royce factory with defects leftover from the wetsanding and aggressive compounding processes there, so at the completion of our extensive detail, this car looked better than when it was brand new. Both inside the walls of the shop, and outside in the sunshine, the Phantom was nothing short of stunning! We only wish that it was being delivered to a Rolls Royce gathering afterwards because other owners of this elite brand would have been absolutely amazed at the level of refinement that this paint was taken too.

Final Images:

Anyways, here are some after shots for you all to enjoy:

Highly refined paint = stunning clarity in reflections!

All this needs is a diplomat flag…

We had dual cameras in action on this one! I’m taking a photo of DJ taking a photo of the Phantom…

The other side of the photo above…here’s what DJ saw out of his viewfinder

And the stars of the show…DJ Mayo, Todd Cooperider, Rolls Royce Phantom, and a broken down 5th wheel trailer in the background!

Thanks to DJ for driving all the way up to Ohio for a week to work with me on the Phantom, Maserati, and Ferrari…and thanks to everybody for taking the time to read through our article!

I’m a big fan of the site and there is certainly a wealth of valuable
information here…

I only have a PC 7424XP, and looking to get as much correction as possible
with at most two steps (compound->polish).

The How-To / Review specifically recommends Meg’s 105 to be used with the
SurBuf pads… What if I already have Menzerna SIP & 106FA? I don’t see why
there would be an issue with this but thought I’d ask.

For my compounding step, should I use some LC PFW or LC Yellow/OJ or Surbuf?

Does a smaller pad = more effective cut or simply better for maneuverability
in tight spaces?

Should I keep the harmonic balancer weight attached to the PC regardless of
the size pad I’m using?

I too am pretty confused as to generally how many pads I need to cover a
full vehicle and also exactly both HOW to go about cleaning them while using
and in preparation for storage.

I realize there are many questions here but these are ones I’ve had for a
while and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Thanks in advance!!!

-Matt S from PA

Matt! Thanks for the complements, now lets get you some answers to your questions………I hope!

A PC+105 and surbuf will correct paint very nicely. The technique is more important than the product in this case, actually in detailing the technique is everything.

I’m going to steal the words from Bryan Burnworth of Peach State Detailing, he has become one of the masters of this process.

“This process can be messy.

7″ surbuf pad. (my insertion…..You can use smaller pads, but it might take an extra pass or two…)
6″ BP
PC or XPPC
Straight IPA

1. Do not prime the surbuf pad.
2. Apply 4 “larger then pea sized” dots of M105 to the pad.
3. Work the polish into an 12×12″ area without turning on your PC.
4. Spritz the surface with water.
5. As in step 3, again work the polish around without turning on your PC, you are looking for a milky consistency.
6. Turn on PC and work the polish till it appears to dry.
7. Spritz more water onto the suface and continue to polish. What this does is bring the polish out of the pad and back to the surface.
8. I have found that you will need IPA sprayed onto your MF to remove the M105 from the surface.
9. Inspect and repeat if needed.

Notes:
If you find that one time is not enough to remove defects, you can always repeat #7 and keep on polishing.

After 2-3 sections, you will need to clean the pad by brushing off the pad and blowing out the excess polish with compressed air. After the pad becomes overly saturated w/ polish clean with warm water and some APC. Spin to dry. The pad does not have to be totally dry to use it again.

I have removed severe defects and 2000 grit wetsanding marks with this method.

Depending on the hardness of the clear, you “might” be able to go right to M205 with a black finishing pad”

Here are the Cliffs Notes to your other questions!

No need to change the balancer IME.

Since 105 is a NON DIMINISHING abrasive it works best, the others you have break down over time and start to “polish” out.

A smaller pad offers the ability to get into small spaces, it will cut differently but that is another subject. It will work fine.

You will go through more cutting pads/ car than finishing pads. I use 3-4 per compact size car as they get filled with clear coat and polishes. I use about 2 finishing pads.

Cleaning pads: get some pad cleaner, soak the pads in a bucket, soak for a few hours, rinse them very well, water the daisys by spinning the pads on your pc, allow to air dry in a dust less area, when dry put into a clean ziplock bag.

I’m hoping all this info is not a system overload for you, but you ask questions and we answer them!

When I published the first Ferrari 458 Italia paint correction article back in June, it quickly became the most popular article that we’ve created here on the Detailed Image Ask A Pro Blog. Everybody loves supercars, and the new models like the 458 always receive a tremendous amount of publicity. For all of the technical specifications on this beast, please refer back to my previous article.

The owner of this particular 458 contacted me as a direct result of the first one that I worked on and wrote about. The article was published one evening, and the very next morning I already had emails from a handful of people with 458’s on order. They wanted to set appointments for paint correction details before even taking delivery of their new cars. Some of them would be shipping their new 458’s to me from around the country, while others like this owner would hire me to travel to them. So we set a tentative appointment for me to make the 6 hour drive up to New York when his new car arrived.

For those of you who have been following my work on Ferrari’s, you’re well aware of the documented issues with the paint from the factory. And for those who are new to these articles (thanks for stopping by…and welcome to the blog!), Ferrari and many other high end manufacturers ship their vehicles with less than stellar paint conditions. By reading through the details below, and looking at the corresponding images, you’ll get a better idea of what I’m referring to.

No worries however, because that’s where the highline professional detailers take over. We’ve been referred to as paint doctors, paint whisperers, and everything in between. Whatever you choose to call us however, you can be confident that we can fix most (if not all) of the problems in the paint, and that the finish of your prized possession will be brought to a level of gloss and clarity that you never imagined that would be possible!

OK then, on to the detail…

The first part of the process is to assess the damages and current condition of the paint to develop an approach that will give us the needed correction while preserving as much of the clear coat as possible. Paint correction involves removing a very fine layer of clear coat, and leveling the surface to produce a high level of reflectivity.

Once I washed the 458 and prepped the finish for polishing, I was able to thoroughly inspect the paint to see what kind of condition it was in. As expected, I found many of the exact same problems as I did on the first 458. Not only did I find the same issues, but they were localized in the same areas of the car as well. This is a good indicator that there are process breakdowns happening in the making of these cars, and that the attempts to “fix” the problems are being handled by people that are not skilled at the fine art of paint correction.

In this photo, you can see the holograms (buffer trails) in the light reflection. This is caused by improper use of a rotary polisher. Somebody either used too aggressive of a pad, improper speeds, too fast arm movement, not properly breaking down the polishes, or a combination of these technical failures. You’ve probably seen a lot of dark colored vehicles in particular out there with holograms / buffer trails after they’ve been worked on by unqualified technicians.

Look at the trails just to the right of the sunlight reflection in this shot.

Light reflections in paint aren’t supposed to look like this! Step outside and look at your car in the sun. If it looks like this, then give me a call!

This is a really bad area here. If I were to crop in on this shot, you would see that these are “pigtails” caused by wetsanding on a dual-action sander. This shows that they either didn’t finish it down with a fine enough grade of sandpaper, or that they didn’t properly polish it out afterwards (or both). On the 458’s, you will find a lot of sanding pigtails on the front and rear bumpers.

This is also a really bad area, and a challenging one to fix because of the concave shape. Based on what I’ve seen with these cars, the factory is using some old-school (very large) wool pads and they simply can’t finish it down. These are some of the worst areas on the 458, and require a variety of (smaller) pad sizes and lots of patience to get them right.

By now you should have a pretty good idea of how the paint looked on this $260K exotic beauty! There were holograms, sanding marks, long and deep scratches, and even a burned edge (buffing went all the way through the clear coat and to the color coat). It was scheduled for 2 long days at the Esoteric Spa, so I needed to get busy to bring out the true beauty that it deserved.

Just after compounding alone, the finish looked tremendous by comparison. The slight haze that was leftover would be cleaned up in the finish polishing stage. The Surbuf / M105 took the finish from this:

To this!

Now let’s move on to some other problem areas of the car. There were several spots where somebody decided that sanding needed to be done, but then they failed to polish it out afterwards! Yes…this is how it came from the factory.

These spots required the Makita rotary teamed up with a 4″ Cyan Hydro-Tech pad and Meguiar’s M105 compound to fix the sanding marks. This shot is immediately after compounding (sorry for the blurry photo).

For the burned edge that I found, I simply taped over it (small piece of tape in the photo) and was very careful in that area knowing that the thickness of the clear had been compromised.

This is a good one…heavy sanding pigtails! This is on the rear bumper, just below the side marker light.

After compounding:

More problems on the rear bumper:

After compounding:

I tried to get a 50/50 shot here on the back end of the car to show before and after compounding. You can see the top half of the photo (in the sun reflection) where it has not been polished and you still see all of the swirls and defects. Just below the reflection you should be able to detect a line where I had it taped off…you shouldn’t notice any defects on the bottom half. The entire back end (bumper, rear deck lid) took me about 4 hours alone to work on between compounding and finish polishing!

At this point day 1 is complete, and I finished all of my compounding after about 10 hours worth of work. At the end of the work day the owner of the car took me out for dinner and we had a great time talking about cars and business. I really enjoy getting to know my clients!

Finish Polishing:

For day 2, I started with my finishing polish process using the Makita rotary, a black finishing pad, and Menzerna 106FA polish. I did a few test sections, thoroughly wiped down the surface with Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any polishing oils and ensure that I had a true, defect-free finish, and snapped some shots to show everybody how it now looked. Not only did it totally remove any haze left over from the compounding stage, but it brought out a tremendous amount of gloss and clarity in the paint.

Any specs you see at this point is just lint from the microfiber towel…the finish is defect-free.

Like I said previously, the back-end of the car took a tremendous amount of time, and was polished exclusively with 4″ spot pads because of the tight areas. When it was finished however, the holograms were gone, the sanding marks were leveled, and the gloss and clarity of the paint went through a huge transformation!

That’s a money shot right there!

Finishing Details:

Once all of the compounding and finish polishing stages were done, it was time to put on several hours of finishing touches to get the beautiful 458 Italia ready for final photos. All of the polishing dust needed to be cleaned out of every crack and crevice, the engine was detailed, exhaust tips polished, wheels and wheel wells treated, glass cleaned, interior cleaned and dressed, and a final coat of a developmental sealant was applied. The car looked absolutely stunning when it was complete…as it should have been when delivered from the factory.

Ferrari 458 Italia in pictures:

While designed with performance first in mind, the interiors of the Italia are top-notch and rival luxury cars in their fit and finish, material choices, and amenities.

Just like a fine sculpture…

This was an area in particular of the 458 where the owner was floored by the increase in gloss we were able to achieve.

And speaking of gloss…

I just like the moody feel to this shot.

The light of truth shows the true, defect-free condition of this Rosso Corsa paint.

I just love the lines on these cars.

A few more sun shots to show the true condition of the paint now that it has been properly leveled.

From this photo you can get a better idea of the curvature, and how it can create challenges to polish.

And finally…

A few words from the owner of the car:

Obviously I’m going to say how great the car looked, how big the transformation was, etc…it’s my work, so I’m a bit biased! I wanted to take a different approach on this one however and give the owner of the vehicle an opportunity to provide some feedback and let you hear it from the customer’s perspective.

Quite frankly, I never heard of Todd Cooperider before. But I’ve been on the f-chat board for years and caught the post about the first 458 being detailed. After reading the post and seeing the before & after photos, I was amazed at the quality of Todd’s work. But reading the article made me wonder how bad condition the paint on my 458 was going to be. I figured I would reach out to Todd just in case I needed his help. I hoped and prayed my 458 would be in top condition. After the car arrived, and the initial amazement wore off, I began to take a long look at the paint condition. It needed help. Badly. The paint had tons of swirl marks. It was extremely hazy. And worse, there were some substantial scratches. Quite frankly, Ferrari makes an incredible car but they really need to address this problem. I contacted Todd again and said “Hey – you need to get up to Buffalo ASAP”. It was the best decision I could’ve made. Todd is a pro. This guy has a passion for what he does. The car just looks incredible. It’s a night and day difference. The hazy look is gone. The swirl marks gone. And the paint finally has the deep & clear look that a car of this caliber deserves. I could’ve taken the car to a local shop and saved a lot of money, but it never crossed my mind. I wanted the best and Todd spent two full days busting his butt to get my car in the condition I wanted. I would use Todd again in a heartbeat – and more importantly, I would recommend him to anyone who doesn’t want to trust their car to a kid making just above minimum wage who has no idea what they’re doing. That’s the difference. Thanks again Todd!

If you have any additional questions or comments you’d like to make, please post them in the comment box below.

Thanks!

]]>http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/ferrari-458-italia-paint-correction-v2-0-by-todd-cooperider/feed/15When to Glaze and When to Compound / Polish Away Defects?http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/when-to-glaze-and-when-to-compound-polish-away-defects/
http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/when-to-glaze-and-when-to-compound-polish-away-defects/#commentsMon, 17 May 2010 10:30:41 +0000http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/?p=1045While you are sitting in your garage, out in a parking lot, or at a car show, you may notice paint imperfections such as swirl marks all over the paint. Then, you wonder how you should go about removing these imperfections. Should you remove them completely, remove most of them, fill them in and conceal them, or not do anything at all? Here is a little summary of your options:

Compounding away defects: This process will remove the defects rather quickly, but at a cost. With each compound pass, more and more paint is being removed from the car. You only want to use a compound when the damage to the paint is significant, or deep. If you have never had the car detailed before, a compound would be the first step to a rich and deep gloss. If you have had the car compounded on more than a few occasions, it might be best to leave some defects in the paint unless a repaint is an option down the road. If you don’t have access to a paint thickness guage to monitor how much clear coat has been removed over time, you may want to opt for a less aggressive method.

Polish away the defects: This process is less aggressive to an extent compared to compounding. While you are still removing clear, it is not happening as quickly, and you are not cutting as deep as a compound would be. Also, while the polishing step can remove minor defects, it is also enhancing the gloss levels from the paint, where a compound will leave the paint hazy. So, in a sense, you are “killing two birds with one stone” – polishing away defects, and improving the gloss in the car. Of course, there are polishes with very minimal cut like Menzerna 85rd that will cut very little, if any at all, but leave behind one glossy finish (provided proper previous steps were performed).

Filling in defects: This a very important decision to make. If your car has been subjected to more than a few compound details, and lots of paint correction work, the paint may be wearing thin to a point where it is no longer safe to compound or polish without removing too much. This is where glazes come into play! Glazes will do a pretty good job at concealing and hiding the paint defects for a while when removal is not an option. In this case, you work in a glaze until it “disappears” into the paint, and the swirls will be “masked/hidden”. This is also a great option for prepping cars for car shows and those cars in need of a “wetter” look!

Leaving the defects alone: ….who wants to do that? No one really, but sometimes it is necessary to do! If there is very little paint to work with, or the specific defect is too deep, it may be best to leave it alone and live with it resting in the paint. If you cut too deep, you will end up doing more damage than good, leaving yourself with a repaint necessary to fix a now prominent defect where before it was just a subtle imperfection. Deep RIDS (Random Isolated Deep Scratch) should be left alone and concealed in the situation where the paint has had its share of paint correction work!